Today’s Links: Prisoner abuse awareness, electric cars and the bulldozing of an ancient city

China Daily Assails Prisoner Abuses [NYTimes.com] “Inmates in China’s 2,700 pretrial detention centers suffer bullying and torture at the hands of fellow prisoners and police officers, and some experts want a neutral body to take the centers out of police control to curb the abuses, the state-run English-language newspaper, China Daily, reported on Tuesday.”

China spearheads surge in state-sponsored executions [The Independent] “Executions of prisoners almost doubled last year – predominantly because of the Chinese government – according to a report by Amnesty International. Death sentences handed down by China for crimes including tax evasion and bag-snatching represented three-quarters of the 2,390 executions carried out around the world, up from 1,252 in 2007. China’s resumption of its death penalty programme comes after a dip in executions during the lead up to the Beijing Olympics that were held last year.”

An Ancient Culture, Bulldozed Away [washingtonpost.com] “Here in China’s westernmost city, a $448 million plan to move about 50,000 residents out of the old city and into modern apartment buildings kicked off last month with the first 100 families transitioning into government housing. Officials say some houses are too far away from fire hydrants and that the old city is dangerously overcrowded. While the earthen homes have stood for centuries, the deadly earthquake that hit Sichuan province last May only added urgency to the project.”